Tag: Myokines

Sweatin’ for Myokines [RESEARCH]

(Title image: Photo by Annemiek Smegen on Unsplash)

Following up on my “Exercise and Cancer Cells” post from September 2025, here is another paper by the same authors that was published this month that offers more evidence about the importance of exercise for cancer survivors.

This study by Bettariga et al. (2026, Med Sci Sports Exer) investigated what effect different types of exercise would have on the production of myokines in breast cancer survivors. Why myokines? Because myokines are chemicals released during a muscular contraction. Once in the bloodstream they have various effects on the human body, but the most important for our discussion is that some myokines have been shown to decrease the growth of cancer cells, although the mechanism by which they do that is still unclear.

The study participants, all breast cancer survivors, were assigned to either strength (resistance) training or HIIT groups.
(Photo by Robert Stump on Unsplash)

This study compared resistance training against high-intensity interval training, or HIIT. For twelve weeks, twenty-eight breast cancer survivors engaged in either resistance training or HIIT, three days per week. Exercise was performed at moderate-to-high levels of intensity, which means that the participants were challenged by the activities.

At the end of the twelve weeks, regardless of which exercise group the subjects were in, the cancer-busting myokines circulating in their bloodstreams had increased by as much as 15%; both resistance training and HIIT were equally effective. Furthermore, when serum taken from the study participants was applied to metastatic (in this case, triple-negative) cancer cells in the lab, there was a 22-25% reduction in the growth of the cells.

These are excellent results. While the study group (28 participants) was quite small and additional research with a larger set of subjects should be done, the effect of exercise was striking.

As mentioned above, the exercise was medium-to-high intensity. What exactly this means for each individual will vary, as intensity is specific to the exerciser and depends a lot on their current fitness levels. For this study, none of the participants had exercised in the previous three months, so they weren’t gym rats to start out with. Their results were still significant.

Everyone has different abilities. Begin at your own starting point and take it from there.
(Photo by LOGAN WEAVER | @LGNWVR on Unsplash)

As I’ve said in previous posts, being diagnosed with cancer leaves you feeling out of control and powerless about your own body. It can feel like things are happening to you and there’s little you can do about it. This is one way that you can effect a positive change and improve your chances of recurrence-free survival, and it is something over which you have control.

The take-home message? There is a constantly-expanding body of scientific literature that supports maintaining as high a level of physical activity as you personally can, while still respecting the limitations that your body may have. Start slowly, increase intensity gradually, keep going…and don’t ever stop.

REFERENCES

Reader-Friendly Article:
Bettariga F (January 6, 2026) “How Exercise May Suppress Cancer Growth.” Active Voice|ACSM. https://acsm.org/active-voice-how-exercise-may-suppress-cancer-growth/

Research Study:
Full publication (Abstract available without journal access)
Bettariga F, Taaffe DR, Crespo-Garcia C, Clay TD, De Santi M, Baldelli G, Adhikari S, Gray ES, Galvão DA, Newton RU (2026) Effects of Resistance versus High-Intensity Interval Training on Myokines and Cancer Cell Suppression in Breast Cancer Survivors: A Randomized Trial. Med Sci Sports Exer, 58, 1-9.
https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/abstract/2026/01000/effects_of_resistance_versus_high_intensity.1.aspx
PubMed Listing
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40903011/

Exercise and Cancer Cells: High-Intensity Exercise = High-Intensity Results [RESEARCH]

(Title image: Photo by Blocks Fletcher on Unsplash)

I am a huge proponent of exercise, both for prevention of cancer and its recurrence and in management of cancer treatment side effects, not to mention improving quality-of-life. Now a new study shows how even just one exercise session can have a powerful effect on cancer cells.

A randomized controlled trial conducted by researchers in Australia (Bettariga et al., 2025, Breast Cancer Res Treat) explored the effects of a single bout of vigorous activity (either weightlifting or interval training) on the production of anti-cancer myokines and investigated how blood drawn from study participants affected live cancer cells in the laboratory.

There has been a lot of research on the efficacy of exercise in reducing the risk of both developing cancer and preventing recurrence. However, this study focused exclusively on breast cancer survivors, which was important given that the physiology of survivors is affected by the treatments that they’ve gone through.

What was so gratifying to me was to see the significant effect of strenuous exercise. While the greatest benefit was seen from high-intensity interval training regarding its lethal effect on live breast cancer cells due to particularly high levels of a myokine called IL-6, the researchers stressed that strength training was likewise important as a cancer-fighting activity because building muscle through exercise also increased the amount of myokines circulating through the body.

The study participants engaged in strenuous exercise, but the program was created with noice exercisers in mind.
(Photo by Intenza Fitness on Unsplash)

It’s important to note that all thirty-two participants in this study were not exercising prior to joining the research group. Even so, they were able to tolerate the high intensity of the workouts. Keep in mind that “high intensity” is relative to the individual. That means strenuous exercise (for this study, reaching an effort level of at least a 7 or 8 on a scale of 1 to 10) will be different for a novice exerciser versus a highly-trained professional athlete.

So often, I encounter people who are willing to take a plethora of medications with considerable side effects, but roll their eyes when exercise is mentioned. Some people view physical activity as being only for those who are interested in looking a certain way or being mainly for those who have already reached a certain level of fitness.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Exercise is for everyone. We all start at different points; where exactly that is doesn’t matter. What does matter is that we are willing to exert enough energy to make a difference in our physiology and our well-being.

This is not “diet culture” or anything to do with body shaming. This is about doing what you can personally to increase your chances of a cancer-free life.

Survivors can talk to their healthcare team, show them this research and request that doctors lobby their insurance companies. Personal training, subsidized exercise equipment and gym memberships, fitness classes at cancer centers—all of these should be considered a critical part of cancer treatment and survivorship.

REFERENCES

Reader-Friendly Article:
Reynolds G (September 11, 2025) “A single exercise session may slow cancer cell growth, new study shows.” Washington Post. Free access via MSN: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/a-single-exercise-session-may-slow-cancer-cell-growth-new-study-shows/ar-AA1Ml2oc?ocid=socialshare

Research Study:
Full publication
Bettariga F, Taaffe DR, Crespo-Garcia C, Clay TD, De Santi M, Baldelli G, Adhikari S, Gray ES, Galvão DA, Newton RU (2025) A single bout of resistance or high-intensity interval training increases anti-cancer myokines and suppresses cancer cell growth in vitro in survivors of breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Treat, 213, 171-180. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10549-025-07772-w
PubMed Listing
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40608178/

“Moving Through Cancer”: A Short Film from ACSM

(Title image: Photo by guille pozzi on Unsplash)

I’ve been coming across a lot of interesting–and hopefully useful– videos. The one I’m posting here is presented by the nonprofit Fund for Sustainable Tomorrows and the American College of Sports Medicine, the latter being the organization through which I received my personal trainer certification almost 16 years ago.

This is a 20-minute film with a hopeful message!

The film, narrated by former Olympic figure skater and cancer survivor Scott Hamilton, showcases the stories of how survivors are using exercise to make themselves feel better and increase their chances for survival. It also shows how our knowledge about physical activity’s benefits during cancer treatment has increased, and the programs that have been created to help cancer patients become and stay active.

It’s amazing to see how within a decade or two the attitude about cancer and exercise has changed. Whereas individuals undergoing cancer treatment used to be told to rest as much as possible, now it’s understood that exercising through your treatment is one of the best ways to not only minimize associated side effects but also decrease the chances of cancer recurrence.

For me, exercising during my treatment was a way to feel normal when everything else felt out of control.

The current recommendation is aerobic activity for 150-300 minutes per week along with twice weekly resistance training sessions. And it’s best to do both types of exercise for a well-rounded program, if you can manage it.

But the most important thing to remember is that no matter what you do, doing something is better that doing nothing. Research has discovered the existence of myokines, hormones that are produced in the tissue of skeletal muscles. They are released during muscular contractions and seem to have anti-cancer properties, slowing cancer growth and spread. That is very exciting news!

Of course, exercise is not a cure, and there is no guarantee that if you are an avid exerciser you won’t get cancer or won’t have it recur. However, there’s a very good chance that physical activity will make you feel better and help you continue with life-saving treatments.

As E. Ronald Hale, MD, MPH, Medical Director of Radiation Oncology at Kettering Health states (from the video), “The best cancer treatment in the world is useless if you can’t get through the cancer treatment.” The side effects from cancer therapies can be debilitating, but getting out and moving will improve your quality of life and help you finish your treatment.

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It’s worth mentioning that the number of exercise professionals who have had additional training in working with cancer patients is growing, which means that cancer-informed trainers and yoga teachers are becoming easier to find. Now it’s the insurance companies that need to get on board.